As the members know the Observatory was opened in 1960, and was built by Horace Barnett and the ‘Newbold Nutters’ over a period of three years.

Since then very little changed with the lecture room and dome buildings. As time progressed the buildings fell into a state of disrepair, not through neglect or lack of interest, but through budgetary constraints and lack of funding. Repairs were done as and when required on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis.

In mid 2008 the committee decided that we needed to upgrade the ageing facilities at the Observatory. For this we applied for funding from Viridor Credits to the tune of just over £6000.

With this we wanted to replace the leaking roof (and get rid of George the Fungus), create disabled access, link up the lecture room to the sewer, and install a disabled friendly toilet. (a toilet that had never been a feature of the observatory up until now).

The society was a little naïve with the project and soon realised that to complete the tasks on such a low budget would require very careful planning. (Even our funders were shocked at what we aimed to do for such a low figure.

The biggest challenge was the 18 month upheaval suffered by our members, who most likely thought at times that the work would never end.

However, the main parts of the project were completed late 2009 these included;

A ‘new’ recycled kitchen;

 

A new roof;

 

A new disabled access door;

 

Link up to the sewer;

 

And a new disabled friendly toilet suite;

The lecture room got a facelift too. A tidy up; a fresh lick of paint; new carpet tiles (donated by a member of the society); and a thorough upgrade of the electrical system to ensure compliance with current regulations.

As with most things the work doesn’t stop there…… we are looking to improve our viewing platform outside; further improve access for visitors, and increase our storage space for the equipment. Planning permission for the project is being sought so that we can get underway.

The Barnett Observatory By Day		The Barnett Observatory By Night

Author Rich Westwood August 2010